Don’t Miss Out

You’re all set!

Look out for our weekly updates soon.

Connect with us

Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.

Sign up now for the latest news, top picks for your kids, and helpful tips.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that many children will be disturbed by the spectacle of a loving father going crazy and becoming a homicidal maniac, and the consequences for the family. There are a number of shocking and tense moments among all the schlock.

User reviews

Parents say

Kids say

What's the story?

FRAILTY begins with Fenton Meiks, (Matthew McConaughey) a troubled-looking young man, has walking into an FBI office and claiming to know the identity of the serial killer known as "God's Hands." The story unfolds in flashback. Fenton describes growing up with his widower father (Bill Paxton) and younger brother Adam in a generally happy household. Then one night, he gets the boys out of bed to tell them that they're living in the End Times, and God has selected the family to seek out and destroy demons. The demons look like ordinary humans, but Dad knows the difference -- he can see their sins at the moment he dispatches them by touching them with his hands. He uses a divinely selected ax and a lead pipe to perform the actual "destruction" of the demons. Adam, the younger and more pious of the brothers, believes what his father tells him and immediately throws himself into the role of divinely appointed avenger. Fenton, older, keeps his doubts secret until his father actually drags home a bound woman, who he executes in front of his children. Fenton is horrified, but forced to take an increasingly active role in the "demon" hunting. Dad realizes it's difficult for his son to accept his new role in the universe. Nevertheless, as Fenton resists more and more, his father takes increasingly stern action.

Is it any good?

QUALITY

Many great horror movies deal with families; that is where we are all most sensitive. This uneven film exploits that vulnerability but is ultimately unsatisfying. The genuinely horrifying premise of this film is undercut by its ham-handed writing, which makes the plot even less plausible. The dialogue is full of wooden homilies like "The truth is pretty unbelievable sometimes." The dialogue is unintentionally funny at a number of points, especially when Bill Paxton is carefully delivering exposition on his insane plot. What is supposed to be a chilling matter of fact tone sounds more like a cold reading of the script.

This is not to say that the film is not frightening. The "destructions" are horrifying. The fact that we do not see the worst leaves the graphic details up to our imaginations. The scenes of Fenton locked in the cellar are extremely harrowing. But the most disturbing aspect of the plot is that the murders take place in front of the young sons, and committed by a beloved father. As Alfred Hitchcock said of the death of a child in an early film of his, "It was an abuse of cinematic power." For a film as empty as Frailty, there is simply no excuse.

Families can talk about...

Families can talk about both Adam and Fenton's reaction to their father's revelations. What would you do if your father or mother told you they were commanded by God to kill the guilty? An especially troubling aspect of the movie implies that the father's visions are real, and that God has actually selected a number of people to kill specific evildoers with an ax. Families of any faith will want to discuss the difference between the movie's depiction and real-world religion.

About our buy links

When you use our links to make a purchase, Common Sense Media earns a small affiliate fee from Amazon or iTunes. As a nonprofit organization, these funds help us continue providing independent, ad-free services for educators, families, and kids while the price you pay remains the same. Thank you for your support.Read more

A great and really eerie psychological thriller. I love how all the murders are not shown and left to the imagination. This movie contains very dark themes and violent scenes, but only one with blood. It had an excellent twist at the end which is what really made this great.

Great for adults, Not for kids.

This is a great movie with an awesome twist. My concerns for younger viewers watching this movie is the violence. There are many murders, most of them are off screen and only implied but you do get to witness a brutal stabbing that takes place behind a white sheet. The charaters are silhouetted but the blood splatters everywhere. Language is another main concern. F*ck is used four times, B*tch is used twice and sh*t is used once. The word t*ts is also used when referring to a womens chest. A conversation also takes place stating that Santa is not real because they caught dad putting the gifts under the tree. In conclusion, this is a great movie for adults but not for kids.

Movie recommendations for your kids right to your inbox

Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.

Our Policies

Download our free app

Common Sense is the nation’s leading independent non-profit organization dedicated to empowering kids to thrive in a world of media and technology. Families, educators, and policymakers turn to
Common Sense for unbiased information and trusted advice to help them learn how to harness the positive power of media and technology for all kids.

The Common Sense and Common Sense Media names, associated trademarks, and logos, including the Decider Slider and Age Ratings Bugs,
are trademarks of Common Sense Media, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization (FEIN 41-2024986).